Over recent years, big money has been spent on attacking players with little spend on improving key areas behind the strikers and wingers, with Jack Rodwell the exception to that rule (reported transfer fees have been added to my player contract information page). Dick Advocaat summed this up in his comments heading into the weekend, as the money spent on defensive areas is what you would expect on squad players rather than first team regulars:
I still have concerns, although Lee Congerton has done a great job to bring in Coates for £2m, Kaboul for £3m, M’Vila for nothing and Matthews for £2m. But normally if you bring in players for that money, they are bench players. For me, they have to play. The only player we’ve brought in for big money is Lens.
This is not an indictment of Sunderland individually; traditionally clubs spend more on goal scorers, with creators not far behind – as goal prevention and players in the transitional areas between defence and attack fall way behind. It’s just what is normally done, much like buying a striker is when a club is struggling for goals – without the consideration of whether a lack of goals is due to creative deficiencies in the squad (and Sunderland are certainly guilty of this, with Jermain Defoe and Danny Graham very recent examples) – but because it's what is normally done doesn't mean that it's right.
Furthermore, head of player identification at Tottenham Rob Mackenzie outlined the transfer strategy of many clubs on Twitter last season, shortly after the conclusion of his technical scouting series with Sky Sports’ Adam Bate concluded – and Sunderland do appear to be one of the clubs following this approach. "Despite advances in technology, data management and enhanced availability of stats," Mackenzie stated, "many signings seem to occur as a result of same key reasons,” outlining the following principles:
1. He used to be a good player and that is what I remember about him. 'If' we can get him to that level again, he will be really good for us.
2. Somebody knows him personally and he is a good lad and he wants to join the club.
3. He has played well for an acquaintance of the manager who has recommended him.
4. He shares the same agent as the key decision maker at the club.
5. He has played well previously against the team who he has just signed for.
Kaboul and M’Vila certainly fall under the first criteria, as Lens and Coates fall under the second. The latter, for example, would never have been signed permanently based on his performance under Gus Poyet, so the judgement was made on Coates over a small sample size of notable performances – but he impressed due to his actions rather than providing stability, at times putting his body on the line.
I personally find it questionable why the central midfield, as well as the full-back areas, are an afterthought to the Sunderland management team – as these players see the ball more than any other players at the club. With a minimum of 1,000 minutes played, Sunderland’s top six for touches per 90 were as follows: Jordi Gomez (66.4), Patrick van Aanholt (65.6), Anthony Reveillere (65.0), Santiago Vergini (60.4), Lee Cattermole (59.5) and Seb Larsson (57.5). Three central midfielders and three full backs, with centre backs Wes Brown and John O’Shea the next two players after these six. In comparison, Jermain Defoe had 28.8 touches per 90, Steven Fletcher had 41.9 and Adam Johnson 48.6, so around 20 to 40 fewer touches of the ball per game than the lower priority areas in the squad. Sunderland are a club that struggles to keep possession (Gomez was the top passer with just 35.4 passes per 90), so maybe it’s time for bigger money to be spent on these areas to improve the quality in what are really key positions, as only Cattermole, Rodwell and Liam Bridcutt cost more than £2 million.
That lack of ability on the ball to keep possession was glaringly apparent against Leicester. In that period between the 10th minute and half time, when Leicester scored three and could have had more, Sunderland needed players to take control of the game, as a period of possession to relieve the pressure on a less-than cohesive defensive unit could have helped settle things down. Instead, Advocaat changed the shape of the side to little effect, as Leicester continued to exploit space down the wings.
With time remaining in the transfer window, the club already knew that more additions would be required. We’re likely to see at least one player arrive on loan, as a striker (required after selling Connor Wickham), and a creative midfielder are very public targets. But Sunderland have to be smarter in the transfer market, as loan players have become far too important over recent seasons, leaving the club with problems when they leave – and as Sunderland’s transfer strategy is examined further (such as the very little investment in youth, to the point that only Adam Matthews could qualify to become the club’s Young Player of the Year this season from yesterday’s 18), it can hardly be surprising that progress has been limited, with the majority of players added have had little resale value.
For all some fans will want Sunderland to spend big on a striker, both Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher can improve their scoring total if they are provided with opportunities, so looking at loans to add depth in this area and spending money to make quality permanent signings in key areas to build around are required – as it’s about time that the club’s transfer strategy changed. Some composure and guile in midfield and full backs who are as good defensively as they are pushing forward would be important areas to strengthen, as these players are going to see more of the ball than anyone else.
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